Career

For 17 years I practised law at Iler Campbell. For a disproportionate number of lawyers at the firm, law was a second career. For me it was a third. I wasn’t in it for money or prestige. I joined Iler Campbell because the lawyers were practising law because of what law allows us to do, all with issues they cared deeply about and felt they were worth fighting for.

Before law though, I worked at the City of Toronto. I held a number of positions there in the City Clerk’s office, including managing the Toronto City Council meeting process; and the Freedom of Information Office, implementing privacy legislation.

My ‘second’ career was as director of administration at an international environmental NGO. This organization was, not coincidentally, a client of Iler Campbell. In my five years there I worked quite closely with the lawyers who later became my partners. It was in that job that I began to understand the challenges that non-profits face daily as they work with committed but overworked staff, volunteer boards, limited time and money, demanding funders, and well-meaning but sometimes inexperienced volunteers.

I joined Iler Campbell as an articling student in 2005 and was pleased to have been hired on following my call to the bar the next year. Iler Campbell was a great fit because it combined many of my past professional experiences and interests and allows me to work in a range of areas of law inside and outside the courtroom.

I spent most of my time working with our co-op housing clients. Co-ops are a fascinating model for community development and I’m always impressed by the level of commitment that the members have for the model. They work hard to make it work – and it does! I got a charge out of going to co-op board meetings and trying to help them figure out what made sense for them. I like to think that I brought something very practical to the advice that I gave. I’ve managed legal budgets in a non-profit and I know that they can’t always afford the luxury of the Cadillac of legal opinions – sometimes the reliable and sensible Toyota is all that’s needed. I was always happiest when clients told me that they understand what I’ve said. I didn’t want to sound like a lawyer.

I left practice on December 31, 2022 to try again to reinvent myself, this time, as a staff person at the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto. I’m back to my non-profit roots but also working closely with the City of Toronto to try to resolve the housing crisis.